LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Pictures on Monday unveiled a first look at the upcoming reboot of the "Spider-Man" movie franchise, and the action-packed thriller has at least one person in the audience shaking in his Spidey suit -- the man who plays him, Andrew Garfield.
"I'm terrified right now," Garfield told an audience at a New York City movie multiplex in a presentation that was one of four similar events happening simultaneously in New York, Los Angeles, London and Rio de Janeiro.
Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans and director Marc Webb were on hand in other locations to speak briefly about the movie.
In New York, Garfield told the audience that taking on the role of the teenage crime fighter and comic book superhero was daunting because of the responsibility for portraying a character who is beloved by so many people.
"This is so overwhelming to be representing this symbol because that's all I am, the guy in the suit. And before, it was Tobey (Maguire)," he said before joking, "Next time hopefully it will be a half-Hispanic/half African-American actor."
Garfield, 28, is known for his supporting role as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg's best friend in "The Social Network." But "Spider-Man" may be his biggest Hollywood break yet.
The original 'Spider-Man' movie trilogy launched Tobey Maguire to stardom and earned $1.1 billion at domestic box offices. The new movie, "The Amazing Spider-Man," hits movie screens on July 3, and will hope to beat that stellar run.
For the reboot, veteran director Sam Raimi turned over the franchise reins to Marc Webb, a newcomer to the genre having previously directed indie romantic comedy, "500 Days of Summer."
In "Amazing Spider-Man," Parker goes searching for the reason his parents disappeared when he was a child. His pursuit brings him face to face with his dad's old partner, Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) who transforms into the villainous Lizard.
Peter Parker also gets a new love interest named Gwen Stacy, who essentially takes the romance duties given to Kirsten Dunst as the character Mary Jane Watson in the previous films.
Speaking from Rio de Janeiro, Stone called Gwen the yin to Mary Jane's yang. "Gwen falls in love with Peter Parker, and I think Mary Jane falls in love with Spider-Man," said Stone.
(Editing By Bob Tourtellotte)
